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Welcome, and thank you for your interest in our Headteacher opportunity

Dear Applicant

Thank you for taking the time to find out more about the role of Headteacher at Thirsk Community Primary School. At Thirsk, we recognise the significance of the role of the Headteacher in shaping the future of our school. We understand the impact that the Headteacher has on the quality of teaching, the achievements of the pupils and the role of the school in our community. The outgoing Headteacher and the team around him have created a purposeful and fun learning environment where everyone is valued, expectations are high, and the children are provided with quality teaching within a broad and engaging curriculum.

The school has made tremendous progress towards our vision of excellence over the years, and we are seeking the right person to continue that journey. Our vision is that Thirsk Community Primary school develops confident young people who enjoy learning and strive to achieve the best. To provide each pupil with a safe and caring school community that promotes fairness, tolerance and respect.

Our school is a special place full of learning, laughter and friendship where everyone is happy, valued and feels safe. We aspire to equip our children with the skills, curiosity and resilience needed to continue learning throughout their lives. We are extremely proud of our community school. Here, children work hard and try their best, learn and are prepared for their future lives.

We are looking for someone who will recognise the skills of the staff and will build on their achievements and those of our pupils to ensure they continue to improve. We want someone who is passionate about education and who will champion the needs of our young people and their families.

We want a leader who is dedicated to making a difference, who will continue enhancing our teaching and learning, enriching the personal development of our young people, and ensuring everyone - staff, governors, and students - promotes and enables the vision for our school. It is important to all at Thirsk Primary School that our new Headteacher has a friendly, outgoing personality with a positive outlook, has respect for difference and is passionate and committed to enabling learners to aim high.

Our school is extremely well supported by our Governing Board and fantastic Friends of Thirsk CP School (FOTCPS) who are passionate about the development of our school and the aspirations of our school and children. The Governing Board has a wide range of skills and knowledge and will both support and challenge the new Head in driving forward our vision. This really is a tremendous opportunity for whoever is successful in becoming our new Headteacher.

For an informal, confidential conversation about the role please call Julie Crichton on 07816251317 or email julie.crichton@northyorks.gov.uk. Julie has been engaged to support us with recruitment to this key role.

To arrange a school visit by appointment please see the advert for more details of who to contact, we would also encourage applicants to have a look at the school website to get a feel for our school.

On behalf of the governing body, thank you again for your interest in Thirsk Community Primary School and we look forward to receiving your application.

Yours faithfully,

Stuart Mountford

Chair of Governors

Our Headteacher Opportunity

Thirsk Community Primary School, North Yorkshire 
Post: Headteacher
Number on Roll: 156 and 23 nursery pupils
Commencing: January 2024
Salary: L11 £56,796 – L16 £64,225
Contract Term: Permanent

Thirsk is a friendly, welcoming, child-centred community primary school in the beautiful market town of Thirsk in North Yorkshire. We provide a safe and purposeful environment, within which each pupil is valued and motivated to strive for excellence. At Thirsk we see the diversity in our community as a strength of the school and we aim to ensure that every pupil is challenged and supported to achieve.

Thirsk Community Primary school is easily accessible from the A19, providing good links to York and Leeds to the south and to Teesside to the North. Thirsk is also on the East Coast mainline, and as such, is in commuting distance from further afar. Thirsk has seen significant expansion of the last eight years with a significant housing development being built nearby. Building work continues, as the towns popularity continues to grow.

Our Opportunity 

As Headteacher at Thirsk you will be leading a team of motivated, enthusiastic and skilled staff, fully committed to moving the school forward on the next stage of our journey towards excellence.

It is an exciting opportunity for the new Headteacher who, as a dynamic, innovative, and experienced professional, will lead the school to develop and implement effective strategies to maintain and raise standards and continually improve pupil attainment and progress. With a meticulous eye for detail, you must be able to support the diverse needs of pupils and the provision for each individual child, whilst maintaining the ability to balance budgetary constraints.

Your remit will be to raise standards by developing the school, with an ability to effect change at pace and to work collaboratively with colleagues, in the school, across the school, and with the wider community.

About You

To be successful, you must be able to demonstrate success in raising standards or leading a significant whole-school development, you must also have recent school senior leadership experience and be committed to providing the children with a high-quality education. You will be someone who will actively model and promote the school’s values and Thirsk’s collective determination that no child should be ‘left behind’.

In particular, we are looking for an Headteacher who will; 

  • Be a committed leader with excellent interpersonal skills who can motivate and manage all stakeholders, effectively shaping and delivering the strategic plan.
  • Be an inspirational and dynamic leader who actively encourages and respects the views of others
  • Have a continuing drive to reflect, learn and strive for positive development, for themselves, their staff team, the children and our school as a whole.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the needs of young people, social, physical and emotional alongside educational needs, and ensure that the school provides a rounded provision to nurture them.
  • Have a strong understanding of removing the barriers for disadvantaged learners; the skill of ensuring that the more vulnerable children make strong progress in their learning.
  • Be collaborative and outward looking, developing partnerships for the benefit of the school and the wider educational community.
  • Demonstrate superb leadership skills with the ability to challenge robustly and constructively.
  • Be someone who recognises the importance of maintaining the school’s existing values while instilling their own leadership and identity.
  • Be an outstanding teaching practitioner able to set and achieve ambitious goals and continually seek to raise standards and promote our vision, values and aims in a way that is relevant and inspiring to all.
  • Consider and shape how we can adapt our practices innovatively to promote and enhance the wellbeing of our staff team.
  • Be someone who is capable of and confident in making difficult decisions and asking challenging questions in order to seek the best possible outcome for our school as a whole.
  • Be a strategic thinker able to plan long, medium and short term.
  • Be able to review our financial resources and look at how we invest in our school.

We can offer you:

  • A happy, caring and supportive school, with dedicated staff, supportive families, enthusiastic and motivated pupils and support from the local authority.
  • A school that is committed to continuous improvement through its ethos to maintain its high academic performance.
  • An excellent opportunity to provide strategic leadership and direction, working collaboratively and constructively with the governing body to achieve this.
  • A thriving PTA who actively support the school, and parents who engage with the school and their children’s learning.
  • A governing body that are committed to providing support on all matters including more sensitive or difficult issues - this includes the wellbeing of all staff members – and who are experienced, committed and passionate about our school and ensuring all children reach their potential.

If you feel ready to be our next Headteacher and you can bring your experience, enthusiasm, drive, commitment, and energy to deliver our vision for our wonderful children and motivated staff, we would love to hear from you.

For an informal, confidential conversation about the role please call Julie Crichton on 07816251317 or email Julie.crichton@northyorks.gov.uk. Julie has been engaged to support us with recruitment to this key role.

Key dates:

School Visits: School visits are invited, to arrange a visit by appointment only please contact us on 01845 524349 or admin@thirsk-pri.n-yorks.sch.uk

Application closing date: Midnight, Wednesday 28th June

Shortlisting: Tuesday 11th July

Interviews: Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th July

When applying please take into account the following:

Supporting Documents

Person Specification

Job Description 

Supporting Information

The supporting information section of your application should clearly evidence your ability to meet the requirements we have outlined in the person specification (see campaign site). This will be used to shortlist applicants for this role and therefore it is imperative that you provide evidence as requested.

References

When completing your application, please provide two employment referees.

Safeguarding

We are committed to meeting the needs of our diverse community and aim to have a workforce reflecting this diversity. We are also committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. 

This post is subject to satisfactory references and enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service criminal records check for work with children. An online search may be undertaken as part of the recruitment process on information available in the public domain. Candidates should disclose anything that may be relevant in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

North Yorkshire Council (NYC) advertise vacancies on behalf of schools and external organisations (third parties) in North Yorkshire. NYC are not responsible for the recruitment/employment practices of third parties and accept no liability in relation to the vacancy and any subsequent recruitment/employment processes.